Explorers Ride: Ladakh
Umling La, one of the highest motorable roads on earth, on a Royal Enfield, then two nights at Hanle under the darkest skies in India.
Email this journey
Explorers Ride: Ladakh
Tell us your trip details and we'll put together a complimentary Stradora Expedition Pack for the journey.
17 nights through India
Wild Tracks use the Explorers Ride format to open new routes, and this is the first one outside South America. Eighteen days through Ladakh and Zanskar on Royal Enfield Himalayans, including one of the highest motorable roads on earth.
The route begins in Leh and the Indus Valley, taking in Stok Palace, Hemis and Matho, then heads west past the Sangam, where the Indus and Zanskar rivers meet and run side by side without mixing, and on through the canyon to Lamayuru and its lunar rock formations. It turns south into Zanskar for Padum and a tented camp at Rangdum, crosses to the Aryan Valley, then east to Merak on the shore of Pangong Lake.
From there it climbs to Hanle, home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory and some of the darkest skies anywhere in the country, with two nights to make use of them, and over Umling La. The return runs along the Changthang Plateau through Loma Bend and Nyoma to the hot springs at Chumathang and back into Leh, with a dawn visit to Thiksey before the group flies to Delhi.
Note the bike. This is the Royal Enfield Himalayan rather than the vintage Classic 500s used in Chile and Argentina, which is the right machine for the altitude and the surfaces but a different proposition from the rest of the fleet. The tour is comprehensively inclusive: bikes, fuel, a tour leader riding with the group, a mechanic with a fully equipped backup vehicle, all Inner Line Permits including Aryan Valley, Pangong, Hanle and Umling La, every monastery and monument entrance in the itinerary, and transfers and a guided day in Delhi at the end.
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (2 of 8)
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (3 of 8)
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (4 of 8)
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (5 of 8)
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (6 of 8)
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (7 of 8)
Explorers Ride: Ladakh (8 of 8)
Photography and film: the operator
What's included
- Airport transfers in Leh
- all ground transport in Ladakh including a support vehicle (Tempo Traveller or SUV depending on group size)
- Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle with fuel and engine oil throughout
- experienced English-speaking tour leader riding with the group
- professional mechanic and fully equipped backup vehicle
- riding gear (used
- subject to availability)
- accommodation of 6 nights at the Ratna Hotel in Leh
- 1 in Lamayuru
- 2 in Padum
- 1 at the fixed tented camp at Rangdum
- 2 at the fixed tented camp in the Aryan Valley
- 1 in bungalows at Merak on Pangong Lake
- 2 at the guesthouse in Hanle and 1 at a city-centre hotel in Delhi
- all entrance fees to monasteries
- museums and monuments in the itinerary
- camping and wildlife fees
- the Ladakh Environmental Fee
- all required Inner Line Permits including Aryan Valley
- Pangong Lake
- Hanle and Umling La
- Delhi airport transfers on arrival and international departure
- and a guided sightseeing tour of Delhi with an English-speaking guide.
Not included
- International and domestic flights including airport taxes
- travel
- medical
- rescue
- repatriation and life insurance
- motorcycle insurance
- the refundable motorcycle security deposit
- meals and drinks not named in the itinerary
- soft drinks
- alcohol
- snacks and personal spending
- tips for guides
- drivers and hotel staff
- laundry
- telephone and souvenirs
- costs arising from flight delays
- road closures
- landslides
- extreme weather or government regulations
- a foreign-language guide
- available on request subject to availability
- an International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva Convention format where required
- and Indian visa fees.
Ready to drive it?
17 days, from £3,037pp